Tripwire Presents, the publishing division of Tripwire Interactive, has launched a program aimed at helping self-published indie games reach a larger audience. The initiative begins with five games on Steam and is designed for developers handling their own publishing and promotion.
The program will support games at several points in their life cycle, including before launch, during Early Access and after a full release. Tripwire Presents said its work will include cross-promotion, public relations, creator campaigns and event participation. Developers will also be able to draw on Tripwire’s relationships with platforms and storefronts, as well as its promotional calendars.
In addition to marketing assistance, the publisher plans to advise participating studios on pricing, sale timing and long-term support and promotion. The company described the arrangement as a flexible partnership intended to leave developers with a meaningful share of the benefits from their games.
“Tripwire Presents is starting this new program to give additional visibility to great self-published indie games that we feel Tripwire fans will absolutely love,” said Bryan West, Publishing Director at Tripwire Presents.
West said the program is intended for small teams that have built and promoted their projects independently. Tripwire Presents will also make its player community available to the games it signs, creating another channel for announcements and outreach beyond each studio’s existing audience.
The first games in the program
The initial group includes games from developers working in different genres and release stages:
- The Boss Gangster: Criminal Empire from BEF Games left Early Access and reached its 1.0 launch on Oct. 27. The Steam game combines open-world action with management of a criminal organization in the fictional Night City.
- Starforged Legacy from Second Shift Games is a single-player science-fiction roguelike bullet hell game in Early Access. Players improve a small ship with salvaged weapons and upgrades, while resources from failed attempts provide permanent progression.
- Mars Attracts from Outlier Games is a park-management simulation set in the Mars Attacks universe. Players take the role of Martians, construct enclosures, manage employees and abduct humans as entertainment for visitors.
Mars Attracts recently completed its Early Access period, and a free update has added a new type of human enclosure. The program’s other two launch games are part of the same initial group of five titles, which Tripwire Presents is using to establish the initiative across different genres and stages of development.
Tripwire Presents’ announcement places the program alongside the growing number of publishing arrangements aimed at independent studios that have already brought their games to storefronts themselves. Rather than limiting participation to unreleased projects, the company said it will consider games before launch, in Early Access and after release.
